Senate education committee advances multiple education bills; extends workers’ compensation for recent grads

A joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Education and the committees on Labor and Technology and other panels on Feb. 5, 2025, in Room 229 considered a package of education bills. The committees voted to pass Senate Bill 420, which would extend Department of Education workers’ compensation coverage through July 31 for newly graduated high school students participating in DOE‑sponsored work‑based learning programs; the committees also moved forward a set of bills on school meal pricing, school capital planning, early learning board membership and early‑educator stipend accounting, and deferred a measure on cell‑phone rules to the Board of Education.